Sunday, August 29, 2010

"The Empty Coffin" & "Death Is No Stranger"

It’s time to send this issue of Tales From The Tomb Vol. 2 No. 5 into the empire of shades. Sleep long, grimy issue from the realm of Fass; and may demons howl thee to thy rest!

The last vestiges presented here are both reprints from Igor Shop originals. Think fast! Coming at you like a rabid bat is “The Empty Coffin;” a bright, brief tale of clever revenge and true love. Much encouragement is offered in this story, presenting the fearful limbo of spirits as a place of great liberation – even miracles . . . where the lame shall float on death's gentle wings . . . where the crazy and the dead may twine in love's embrace.

Or, to put it another way, Table of Contents says: ”The stink of rotting flesh choked the living in the House of Korinth. Who’s got a gas mask?”

Our next story, “Death Is No Stranger” serves as reminder: Never bite the hand that feeds – particularly if that hand has no flesh.

No. Begging will not help. Restraint must be shown no matter how great your pleasure. It’s time to let you go until next time, in which we will survey the remains of Horror Tales Vol. 2 No. 3, May 1970.

Great splashes on both, but the highlight for me here in this post Mykal, and possibly including the countless Iger Shop stories I've seen over the years is the bottom left panel, page 4 of "Death is No Stranger." Seriously, I doubt I've ever seen such a great surreal / montage moment like this in any of their stories.

Eerie Publications published horror magazines cheap and quick - with a quivering eye to the naked dollar. No fine-art pretense here; not by a goddamned far cry. Eerie slithered under the comics code by publishing their mags in an oversized, black and white format; thus they were classified as magazines not comics. The concept was to catch the adolescent male’s attention with lurid covers of gore (popped eyeballs a speciality), sex, and primary colors. What can one say but "Mission Accomplished!"

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Owner of Eerie Publishing, Myron Fass, started in the business as a comic book artist but at some point decided to make some money. He began publishing magazines on the cheapest pulp paper available, using artists and writers who, for a variety of reasons, worked cheap. His magazines had covers vibrant with severed heads, staked vampires, and dangling eyeballs; and the stories within were often "retellings" done up bloody or straight-up reprints without the slightest nod given to source material. This low-ball strategy, so clearly a fevered clutch at the adolescent dollar, was the successful bulwark of Fass’ publishing empire. Along with the horror titles celebrated here, Fass published dozens of other special-interest magazines like Brute, Buccaneer, Duke, and Official UFO (to name but a few).

The late publisher has been called a shlockmeister, a con-man, a rip-off artist, a smut peddler, and a brilliant businessman; and his publications have been called cheap, tawdry, blasphemous, low-rent, and sleazy. Mr. Fass and his magazines were all these things and so much more. After his retirement from publishing, he owned and operated a gun store in Florida. He died in 2006.

. . . Fass’ legacy lies like a cheap vampire in darkness, awaiting the call of tacky blood. Let the memories stalk the earth like fetid, sewer zombies - memories of riding my bike to Cunningham’s Drug Store, rushing inside like a sweaty neophyte to stand before the immense rack where the magazines were displayed for my pleasure. In the dank, wet halls of memory, I can still feel that jolt of prurient electricity upon seeing the newest issue of Terror Tales or Tales From the Tomb nearly glistening in bright slime among the other dull publications. Oh, Brothers, hear me! It is Thursday afternoon, and the new magazines are in! - Mykal

** A brief note about The Horrors Of It All: Many of Eerie Publication's stories came from earlier, pre-code horror comics, given a quick re-write and fresh art for a more slimy, gory second life! Let's think of them as "homages!" THOIA specializes in these original, pre-code horror stories. Go and look, damn you!!

The Bloody Pulp uses Mike Howlett's book, The Weird World of Eerie Publications, as a primary source of information for all posts.